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Saturday, 16 December 2017

Johnny "Hammond" Smith born 16 December 1933

John Robert Smith (December 16, 1933 – June 4, 1997) also
known as Johnny "Hammond" Smith, was an American soul jazz and hard
bop organist. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he was a renowned player of the
Hammond B-3 organ so earning "Hammond" as a nickname, which also
avoided his being confused with jazz guitarist Johnny Smith. He was perhaps one
of the more underrated soul-jazz organists of the style's heyday.

Born John Robert Smith in Louisville, KY, on December 16,
1933, Smith began learning piano as a child, idolizing Bud Powell and Art Tatum
early on. After moving to Cleveland, Smith heard jazz organ pioneer Wild Bill
Davis and decided to switch instruments; he made his professional debut on the
organ in 1958, around the same time he was working as an accompanist for
vocalist Nancy Wilson.

In 1959, he began recording as a leader for Prestige, an
association that would last through 1970 and produce highlights like That Good
Feelin', Talk That Talk, Black Coffee, Open House, Ebb Tide, and Soul Talk,
among others.

After a 10-year spell on Prestige Records throughout the
1960s resulting in a series of albums, he shortened his name to Johnny Hammond
and signed for soul/R&B influenced Kudu imprint of Creed Taylor's
well-regarded CTI Records jazz record label in 1971.

His first album for Taylor, "Break Out" was
chosen that year to launch Kudu. The album featured Grover Washington Jr. as a
sideman prior to the launch of his career as a solo recording artist. Three
further albums followed with Taylor on Kudu, as he decided to refer to himself
as "Johnny Hammond", after deciding to drop "Smith" from
his name.

His style had become increasingly funky as he adapted to
the style changes in music, culminating in two popular albums with the Mizell
Brothers, "Gambler's Life" (1974) for the CTI offshoot, Salvation and
then in 1975, "Gears" after switching to another jazz label,
Milestone Records. He began using electric and acoustic pianos, starting with
"Gambler's Life", in addition to his signature instrument. Smith also
taught at the Cal Poly Pomona music department for several years, beginning in
January 1987.

His career took off as he was serving as accompanist to
singer Nancy Wilson. One of his last accomplishments also included Nancy
Wilson. He wrote the song "Quiet Fire" for her "Nancy Now"
release in 1989.

After a few more sessions for Milestone, Smith largely
retired from jazz, settling in Southern California and investing in real
estate. He began recording sporadically again in the '90s, but was stricken
with cancer. His last recording was a live performance at the DuSable
Museum of African American History in Chicago in May 1997. He died a month
later on June 4, 1997 at age 63. (Info edited from various sources mainly
Wikipedia)

About Me

I just love nostalgia, especially music from the 1920's to the 1960's.
I also present a radio show "Gems From The Vaults" on Angel Radio.
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